Twenty families in Barrouallie will join the scores in other parts of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who are benefiting from Richmond Vale Academy’s (RVA) award-winning ecological farming in model gardens.
Director of the RVA, Stina Herberg said the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives have given support to assist 20 Barrouallie families establish its Pass-it-On Sustainable Model Gardens, as well as support the continuation of efforts with 50 families in North Leeward, who have these home gardens.
Herberg said six of the 20 gardens in Barrouallie are almost prepared for start-up and families are excited to learn and farm without imported fossil fuel based chemicals, that damage the soil directly and affects rivers and reefs through runoff.
When these 20 gardens are completed in April, it will bring to 85, the number of gardens that RVA, with the support of multiple partners, has helped farmers in Fitz Hughes, Chateaubelair, Rose Bank, Troumaca, Rose Hall, Barrouallie and Fancy to establish.
RVA says it will take the technique to Layou, Buccament Bay, Vermont, and Sandy Bay before the end of this year and is hoping that a farmer, will be sowing seeds in the 100th garden by the middle of the year.
Under its “St. Vincent Climate Compliance Conference 2012-2021”, RVA says it is hoping that 200 home gardens will be established by the end of 2021.
This year, the RVA will host 50 volunteers from St. Vincent and around the world, contributing to a more sustainable SVG.
